I just had to chime in to say I LOVE the title of this thread! Whenever the kids are really dirty/ripe, DH and I like to call them "filthy hobbitses." Other people don't get it. Glad someone out there would!

Sigh. Yeah, Guillermo did heaps of work on the script and pre-production, but eventually had to back out because the negotiations weren't going anywhere and he had other contracts to fulfil. He was really sorry about it, and I was sad he left - I thought he was a fantastic choice for director, and he's been a real sweetie about communicating with fans, even bouncing ideas off a LOTR message board! Apparently one of his locked-in projects is a Haunted Mansion movie for Disney based off the ride (!).

I'd rather PJ did it than anyone else who springs to mind, but I do wish del Toro had gotten his shot. And I REALLY hope they manage to keep the filming in NZ, 'cause I live here. The LOTR films and NZ were so closely connected that it'll feel like a real kick in the teeth if they take the production elsewhere.

Not pretty enough. As I say, I love the guy, but I have high standards for Elf-kings. And isn't he a bit too... intense and frenetic for an Elf?

(That said, I thought Hugo Weaving was a fantastic Elrond, even though he's not what I'd call attractive. So I guess there's room for compromise. But at least he had a kind of stately bearing. David Tennant, not so much. Too gangly. But we'll see.)

Sylvester McCoy appeared at the Armageddon Expo in Auckland over the weekend where he announced to fans that he's been offered the role of the wizard Radagast The Brown, but has not yet signed a contract.

I have only seen him in Harry Potter and Doctor Who so...not really anything entailing noble bearing.

He was also in Bright Young Things, a Stephen Fry adaptation of Evelyn Waugh's Vile Bodies. (Love the book, quite liked the movie.) He played a rather repellent character, a member of the aristocracy with a nasty little moustache, and a rival love interest to the main character. I love how David Tennant can play people who are SO sleazy and repulsive you just want to wipe them off your shoe... and then turn around and play the most adorable, charismatic, infectious character you would jump into a TARDIS with. Philip Seymour Hoffman has that talent too - watch him in Capote and then in State and Main, the difference is unbelievable. It's a rare gift. I guess you have to have the right sort of face... Jude Law, for instance, ALWAYS has that cold steely look in his eyes, that I can never get past when he's supposed to be playing a likable character. Anyway. Not relevant.

I heard he did Hamlet on stage. Maybe he had a noble bearing in that? (Apparently he was brilliant, I wish I'd seen him! Hmm, wonder if any of it's on YouTube?)

He was Hamlet in a Royal Shakespeare production with Patrick Stewart. It was a fangirl/boy dream come true. The TV production of the same was aired on PBS a couple of months ago, it can probably be tracked down. I watched most of it; it was fascinating.

Yeah, I found it and watched some last night. I'm not sure about the production as a whole - don't like Ophelia at ALL from what I've seen so far - but David Tennant has had some great moments. I'll watch more tonight.

IIRC... which is not guaranteed... Gandalf related his meeting with Radagast in some depth, with verbatim quotes. So there's some material to work with.

Also, I really need to reread the Hobbit. I used to know everything about Tolkien's works... and I'm not kidding, I could write in Tengwar and sing the Elvish hymn to Elbereth... and now I'm sitting here going "Oh yeah, Beorn, what did he do again?". Pathetic. What's the use of being obsessed if you can't retain the knowledge post-obsession?

Edited to add, wow! I haven't checked the IMDb entry for the Hobbit in a long time. How exciting, there are so many parts cast! John Howe and Alan Lee are back as 'conceptual designers', yay. Howard Shore is back doing the music.

Brian Blessed is rumoured to be playing King Dain. Now there's a rumour I would love to see come true.